Іду на ви!

'Idu Na Vy!', as it is rendered in the Latin alphabet, is the first full-length album of Ukraine's Dub Buk. No listener could be surprised by this fact: the collection bears many features of being a band's debut, veering always between the sublime and the ridiculous, and bursting to the seams with more ideas than is necessary for a single release.

I would describe the music as folk-metal with certain black metal influences - the most obvious of which are the vocals, which are performed very ably indeed. They give the impression that one is listening to a more extreme variety of metal, but this is not quite so. The music itself is usually fast, sometimes slowing down to mid-pace, and always reminiscent of several popular folk/pagan bands, such as Finntroll and Ensiferum. The guitars on this album are rarely outstanding; the melodies are carried by keyboards most of the time. This works more often than not. The atmosphere throughout is triumphant and energetic, and some of the key leads are genuinely glorious.

There are some moments, however, where the listener can't help but wonder: why did they put that bit in there? Putting a positive spin on things, these idiosyncracies are what makes this album stand out. But keeping things negative (or realistic), the effect on the bass for track 1's intro is clownish, and the female vocals at the intro of track 3 are horribly grating. Also, the intro (maybe they should just cut all their intros?) to track 2 is practically embarrassing. Thrice, a grandfatherly voice solemnly states 'Ukrainje!', to which his youthful audience respond 'SLAVA! [glory]'. I get that they're proud of their homeland and all, but this comes across as childish.

Once you ignore these awkward parts, you're left with some pretty good and entertaining music. A major problem is that I'm not always in the mood for such dominating synths; this album could really use more interesting guitar riffs. It's a mixed bag, all right (it even has a quasi-ska interlude for a few seconds near the end). The work of a band eagerly trying to make a name for themselves, but not quite sure what it is they're best at.